Post#103 » by humanrefutation » Wed Jan 29, 2014 5:54 pm
I missed out on this discussion, but I get particularly offended when people complain about "made up racism." Just because you have never experienced that, or your perspective wasn't meant to be racist, doesn't mean that the experience is "made up."
Let me explain this more thoroughly. There are two elements here at play when you're facing a situation similar to Richard Sherman's:
1. Intent Versus Impact
My intention in doing or saying something doesn't necessarily mean that the impact is going to fall in line with that intent. For example, some of you like to use the term "ret*rded." Most people don't use that term to purposefully hate on individuals with mental illness. But, it always makes me cringe, because I have a personal connection to people with mental disabilities who have to face challenges every single day, so I am always hurt when someone throws a word around like that. Thus, the intent is not in line with the impact.
So, when someone calls Richard Sherman a "thug," the person who is saying it might not be using it in a racially oriented way, but he clearly felt that it was a coded way of being racist. I don't blame him for feeling that way, because like it or not, there ARE people who use "thug" as a PC way of calling a person of color a racial epithet. If you don't feel you're using it with that intention, then you should be aware that the impact of that is going to make you sound like a racist. If you're Richard Sherman, you should be aware that not everyone who uses that term means it in a racist way, but this is what complicates that...
2. Plausible Deniability
One of the insidious aspects of privilege in this country is the plausible deniability that any person can claim when they say something that could be perceived as racist. Because I can't read thoughts, I can't necessarily prove that someone's words/actions are necessarily coded with racist intent.
Example: Since 9/11, I've noticed that when I go to the airport, more often then not, I'm "randomly selected" by the TSA for additional screening. Why is that? Is it because I have a Middle Eastern name and appearance? Is it racial profiling? Or is it truly random? I can't know that. But what I do know is how it makes me feel, and it makes me feel like I'm being treated like a second class of citizen because of my ethnicity/religion. But the **** up part is...I can't prove that every time I go to the airport. So, I'm stuck feeling like **** and not being able to do anything about it.
Lastly...
Most racism these days isn't the same as it was even twenty years ago. It's not as easily identifiable as segregated fountains, dogs and water hoses, lynch mobs, and shouting racial epithets. While some of those things can still happen, it's much more difficult to identify these days. In some ways, that's a very good thing. Yet, the discussion of the more subtle forms of bigotry - institutional racism, coded language, etc, is far too often criticized as "pulling the race card" or "made up racism." That actually makes it really, really difficult to have these sorts of discussions and actually identify the system and insidious forms of racism that still exist. But, simply put, unless you've walked a mile in the shoes of a person of underprivilege, you can't know what it's like to deal with it on a daily basis. And until you're willing to open your mind and have these discussions with the hope of trying to learn what the other side is seeing, experiencing, feeling, and thinking, you're not going to make anything better.
So, yes, I do agree with Richard Sherman that the term "thug" can be used as a coded way to call someone the n-word. I know that's true because I've seen it in many different contexts. If you don't feel that's true, then I don't know what to tell you, but please don't accuse me of "making it up." Just because you didn't experience it, doesn't mean it didn't happen.
